


Love Thy Brother

by Skullfuggery (OverwatchingYouSleep)



Category: Halloween Movies - All Media Types
Genre: AU - High School, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Michael and Laurie are siblings, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 04:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16866439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverwatchingYouSleep/pseuds/Skullfuggery
Summary: There's no telling what ruined Michael Myers more, the murder he committed or the years of isolation and treatment he received for it. If only fate has turned down a slightly different path, if only his parents hadn't arrived home in that instant, what would have happened? What would have happened if he had killed Judith and gotten away with it?“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness."





	Love Thy Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Something completely different, I just really wanted to play around with this idea. I definitely have a plan if I do continue this, I just don't know if I'll have the time or energy, so I hope you enjoy it for what it is ;v;

The counseling office in Haddonfield High easily outshone the one that Laurie had frequented in it's sister school for the last three years. The waiting room had been balanced between a forest green color scheme and the bulky white of the latest in computer, printer, and copier technology. The offices on the other hand were a more familiar blend of abstract patterns and mismatched school furnishings, Laurie's chair a dull plum, the walls pastel blue, and her new counselor's desk was oak wood stained close to black.

"Well, let's start from the beginning." The man's name was Mr. Loomis, the counselor for all children last names M-Z, and Laurie was already well-acquainted with the name. After all, he was the very same man her brother had been seeing since he sat in her spot as a freshman himself three years before. "When did this, eh, rivalry between you and Michael start?"

Laurie closed her eyes and inhaled sharply.

__

One of her earliest memories involving her brother had been when she was 6, and Michael was just shy of turning 10. They had stood in the middle of the living room, her tiny finger pressed right up against Michael’s nose.

“Michael killed Judith!” she had screamed. Had he confessed to her? The events prior to the memory had become a blur, lost to time. All she knew was that she was as sure then as she was now that Michael had committed the murder of their older sister. But in the face of the accusation, Michael immediately began to tear up.

“W-What?” his lip wobbled, big tears budding in both eyes. “No I didn’t!”

“Lauren!” her mother shouted as she walked in the room, kneeling between the two children and giving Laurie a sharp glare. “That is absolutely ridiculous! How could you say that about your own brother?”

In only a short moment Michael had turned into a sobbing mess, rubbing his fists over his eyes. His voice cracked as he openly wailed. “Mom, I didn’t do it!”

Her anger melted into concern as she turned back to Michael, pulling him into a tight hug. “I know you didn’t sweetie, I don’t know why your sister would say such a thing.”

“I didn’t do it,” he cried again, burying his face into their mother’s shoulder. Laurie watched the whole thing in disbelief, watching their mother pet his hair and do anything she could to comfort his crying fit. When she felt tears of her own budding from the whole display, she turned and started to climb the stairs to go her room. When she stopped to take one last look back, and her eyes caught Michael's.

He was no longer crying. With Mom tucked over his shoulder, face hidden from his, she never noticed the violent stare Laurie was met with before she fled upstairs.

That night, Laurie found a copperhead snake beneath her blankets.

\--

When she finished her story, she was met with a hard stare from Mr. Loomis, lips tightly drawn as the words sank in. Like it was difficult to process. This didn’t surprise her. Michael had put a lot of work into maintaining his persona over the last decade. A doting older brother, mercilessly bullied by his younger sister, and yet still would do anything for her out of the kindness of his heart. Make breakfast for her on Sunday, and get away with tripping her down the stairs, nearly pushing her into an open manhole, and giving her food poisoning with that same breakfast all in the week that followed.

Nobody ever believed her. Least of all their mother, who Michael made a point to support after the murder of their older sister drove her and their father to divorce. Mom would bend over backwards to defend Michael, to Laurie and to anyone Laurie tried to tell. And there wasn't a doubt in her mind that it was intentional.

\--

Another memory slid by, this one fresher, more recent. It was the middle of summer, and without school to keep them busy most of Laurie’s day would be spent alone with Michael. She got out of it most days by going over to a friend’s house, making it a point to come home right when their mother got home at three. Today she decided to show up a little early, with the intention of getting Michael to try something and stretching it out long enough for Mom to come home and see it. 

So in she walked at 2:40, quietly closing the front door behind her. A quick peek around the corners confirmed he wasn’t downstairs, so she kicked her shoes off at the door and trotted up the stairs. At the top of the landing she heard him; his laboured breathing coming from the bathroom, where light shone through a crack in the door. Laurie crept closer, realizing the closer she got that what she was listening to was crying. 

She peered through the crack, finding herself staring at Michael hunched over the sink and his expression in the mirror, where he covered his eyes and shook. In the midst of puberty his voice wavered and cracked, making him sound all the more pathetic.

Somehow, despite everything, Laurie couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart. She could imagine any number of things that he could be going through, from a soured friendship to a broken heart. Human emotions. She felt a little sick that somewhere along the line she had forgotten that beneath everything her brother was still a human being.

Michael looked up. His face was red, tears spilling over his sharp cheeks and down to his chin. His lips wobbled, and for a moment he stared at his own reflection, taking in the sight of himself. Then, his eyes drifted to the right, and met with Laurie’s in the reflection.

She would never forget the way her stomach turned when she saw his anguished expression melt into pure impassiveness. His cheeks still burned, the evidence of his tears apparent, but all the hurt that she had seen in his eyes was replaced with silent loathing, a completely dead stare. She gasped and shut the bathroom door, taking off across the landing and into her room.

His shadow lurked just behind the locked door until their mother’s car pulled into the driveway.

\--

“I must admit,” Mr. Loomis said, drawing Laurie out of the memory. “This doesn’t sound like the Michael I’ve come to know. You see, he’s--well, I suppose I can’t tell you any of that, now can I? Confidentiality and all that.”

Loomis’s expression was unreadable, a blatantly false smile that still somehow didn’t reveal whatever was behind it. Laurie pursed her lips and dug her bitten-down nails into the starch denim of her jeans. 

“Mr. Loomis, I can’t emphasize enough how a--” The door opened behind her and Laurie’s attention was drawn behind her, to the counseling office secretary.

“Michael is here to see you.” Even she sounded pleased with the news, like seeing an old friend again, and Laurie couldn’t help but gulp. How far had Michael gotten his claws into the staff at Haddonfield High? 

“Thank you, Mrs. Rhodes.” The door shut, and when Laurie turned around she was met with an apologetic, almost sheepish stare. “Well, I do hate to cut our time short Laurie, but your brother hasn’t seen me all summer. I’m sure he’s anxious to catch up.”

Laurie was barely listening anymore--she had completely deflated in her seat. She could barely even manage a polite smile as she gathered her books off the floor and stood up. “Thank you, Mr. Loomis.”

“Anytime.” He gave a short wave and leaned forward, shuffling through papers on his desk while Laurie took her leave. She opened the heavy door and glanced to the left, where she expected to see Michael sitting just outside the office. To her surprise, both the waiting chairs were empty. She shrugged and shut the door behind her, coming face-to-face with her grinning brother.

“Lord--” she wheezed, clutching her chest. Michael’s smug grin only grew wider as Laurie caught her breath, sending a glare his way as she moved around him. No sound came out of Michael’s mouth except for a satisfied hum when Laurie was almost out of ear shot. Then, the office door shut, and Laurie shook off her shivers on the way to second period English.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr is dying so I don't know what to promote now haaaaa


End file.
